12 April was Darley day at Rosehill racecourse in Australia and appropriately, two Darley-sired fillies secured their places in next Saturday’s Golden Slipper when Portillo (Red Ransom) and Sugar Babe (Exceed And Excel) took the first two places in the G2 Magic Night Stakes.
Portillo sat towards the rear of the field for most of the six-furlong contest and despite encountering traffic in the straight, burst clear with a furlong left to run and just managed to catch long time leader Sugar Babe to win by a short head.
Their run today means that they are the last two fillies to gain a place in the prestigious Golden Slipper, due to take place at Rosehill on 19 April.
On a successful Saturday down under for the Darley stallions, first-season sire Reset recorded his first Stakes winner when Rebel Raider ran out the convincing winner of the G3 Darley Sires’ Produce Stakes at Morphettville.
Bursting out of the gates and sent straight to the front, the two-year-old colt was hard pressed by Offsider (Exceed And Excel) in the straight but fought hard and took the one-mile contest by just under half a length.
Bertolini also recorded a Black type winner on Saturday when his two-year-old son All In Brawl won the Listed Selwyn River Stud Champagne Stakes at Riccarton Park in New Zealand whilst his juvenile daughter Juice was second in the Listed Network Visuals Champagne Stakes at Ellerslie.
Meanwhile, Dubai To Sydney (Dubai Destination) added further Black type to her CV when third in the G2 Darley Stakes at Rosehill.
Closer to home, first-season sire Kheleyf recorded his second individual winner after Dispol Kylie made virtually all to land the five-furlong maiden at Doncaster.
